Calgary’s Wild Rose Brewery has made frequent appearances in this column over the years, all the way back to the dawn of the new millennium.
In earth-shattering beer news, it was announced that after 23 glorious years of independence, the Wild Rose Brewery is being acquired by Sleeman Brewing, effective at the end of this month.
Faithful readers may recognize Sleeman Brewing as Canada’s third-largest brewer, although a very distant third place after the thundering juggernauts of Molson and Labatt.
Sleeman Brewing has a long and occasionally infamous history, opened in 1890 by the Sleeman family, then forcibly closed in 1927 by the Canadian government as a punishment for smuggling liquor during the dark days of Prohibition.
Sleeman Brewing was revived in 1984 by John W. Sleeman, great-great grandson of the founder John H. Sleeman. The second iteration of Sleeman Brewing wasted no time in growing, and soon acquired Quebec-based Unibroue, following by BC-based Okanagan Springs Brewing, as well as several others.
Wild Rose is the most recent acquisition by Sleeman Brewing, who took a hands-off approach to the day-to-day operations of the other breweries under the Sleeman umbrella, a trend which is expected to continue with Wild Rose.
To make the corporate structure more complex, Sleeman Brewing is owned by Sapporo Holdings, a Japanese megabrewer that owns many other brands in addition to Sleeman, most notably Anchor Brewing from San Francisco.
While the existing brewery and local employees are expected to remain unchanged, the inexorable trend towards consolidation and globalization in the beer industry means that more of the revenue will be going overseas instead of remaining here in the Alberta economy, which does leave a bitter taste in the mouths of some drinkers, and I do not mean from the generous hop additions to the beer.
Wild Rose joins a long list of foreign-owned breweries, with Sleeman, Molson, and Labatt all owned by international conglomerates, making Moosehead Breweries the largest independent Canadian brewery, owned and operated by the Oland family of New Brunswick since 1867.
Wild Rose Brewing burst onto the scene in 1996, the same year that Alley Kat Brewing opened in Edmonton, making for a rivalry exceeded only by Flames vs Oilers fans in its passion.
I can still recall my first visit to the taproom at the Wild Rose Brewery, located in an old Quonset hut in Calgary’s former military barracks. The Wild Rose IPA was my tipple of choice from 2005-2010, long before the IPA craze had swept into Alberta.
For many years, the Alberta Crude Stout was never bottled, available only from the sparkling brass teats in the taproom, making it a special reward for those beer fans willing to make the trip to sip directly from the source.
As my palate matured over the years, my go-to brew from Wild Rose became their Velvet Fog, a hazy wheat beer made in the German Hefeweizen style that was unique in Alberta for many years. Bursting with notes of banana and cloves from the lovingly curated European yeast strains, and unfiltered for maximum flavour, this has remained in my top 3 wheat beers for nearly 20 years.
For the perfect summer beer out on the back deck, Wraspberry Ale has long been a favourite of boozing Albertans. This is a lighter-bodied ale with hints of raspberry and citrus flavors that was originally only be produced during the summer months, but popular demand has kept the production lines humming year round.
Indeed, Wild Rose has come a long way from their early days of brewing on second-hand equipment in a nondescript warehouse, now boasting 23 years of enthusiastic tipplers clamouring for their wares, so it is unsurprising that they have been snapped up by an international conglomerate.
Were I a betting man, my money would be on Alley Kat Brewing in Edmonton being the next to be acquired by a larger player, as they have a similar history to Wild Rose, and their 4 million bottles of annual production shows a steady and reliable cash flow.
Although no such plans have been announced, a common practice after acquisitions is to reduce shipping costs and import duties by sharing brewing facilities within the corporate family, so we might just see Sapporo, Anchor Steam, or Sleeman brews being produced in Calgary in the next few years.
Look for Wild Rose bottles at your local booze merchant to see what all the excitement is for!
